


Home For Christmas

by casienfey



Category: Glee
Genre: Future Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-14 05:34:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28540386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/casienfey/pseuds/casienfey
Summary: While in another country, Dave Karofsky gets an unexpected letter beckoning him home.
Relationships: Kurt Hummel/David Karofsky
Comments: 4
Kudos: 17





	Home For Christmas

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ktfranceebee](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ktfranceebee/gifts).



David began to shake the sand from his boots as he ducked into a tent for a bit of privacy, but quickly gave up. There was sand everywhere. The ground was sand, the air was sand. He was pretty sure that when he was 70, he’d still be finding sand. It was high time to make peace with it and accept sand as a permanent part of his existence.

He walked over to his friend Russ, who was sitting heavily in a folding chair, nearly nodding off. He patted his shoulder to silently tag him in, and the other man groaned softly. He rose to his feet and stretched, bones crackling as he moved. Still, he gave Dave a sideways grin as she shambled back out into the camp.

It had been two years ago now that David had graduated from medical school - a semester early no less. Being a doctor hadn’t always been his plan, obviously. If he was being honest he hadn’t thought he was smart enough for it. But he’d registered for classes late, and all that was left to fill out his full time hours had been an intro level medical course. And it had been love at first sight. One class in, he knew this was what he needed to do with this life.

Patients were like puzzles, and David had always - secretly - really enjoyed puzzles. In medicine the stakes were so much higher than solving a riddle, but that only made him even more passionate about it. The look on the face of a grateful, relieved human being who he had helped meant more to him than anything in this world.

Nah, he hadn’t always dreamed of being a doctor. But dreams change. Like they change when you’re on campus to pick up your transcripts, and your favorite old professor hands you a pamphlet about Doctors Without Borders. And just like that first day in that first class, he looked at this opportunity and went starry eyed.

Someone had to help. That was a core belief of David’s. It had taken time to develop, and well, just knowing Kurt had helped with that. He believed very strongly that humans owed compassion and love to one another. This was his way of giving out the love he owed to the world.

Dave sat down heavily in the chair Russ had left behind, muscles aching and eyes burning. It had been a long, 18 hour day. But he had helped to save that kid’s leg without having to amputate, and that made it more than worth it. He’d have worked through the night and into the next day to make sure that kid came out of it okay.

Still, not all days were as good as this one. It was a hard life out here, and he saw more tragedy in a day than most saw in a lifetime. It was beginning to take its toll on his sanity, if he was being honest. He was so tired, and starting to lose that determined sparkle that had been in his eyes getting off the plane.

He sighed and let his eyes close, dreaming of a different place, a different life.

In his mind, it was Christmas. There was a warm, crackling fire, and he sat on the couch laughing as a little brunette girl ripped open her presents with fervor. Kurt handed him a mug of hot cocoa before kissing his cheek and settling in beside him, head on his shoulder. It was all very idyllic… it was a perfect dream.

But not a reality. He opened his eyes to the harsh light that filtered in through the tent flaps.

Of course David loved Kurt. He’d been in love with Kurt since far before the ill-advised locker room kiss. Even before he could bear to put the word to it, he had loved Kurt. He loved his strength and his softness. 

All through college hanging out in bars picking up guys together, Dave had prayed that Kurt would someday take him home instead. When Kurt had gotten back together with Blaine, Dave’s heart had broken with the weight of the knowledge that he simply couldn’t compete against Kurt’s first love. But he stayed by his side nonetheless, he supported Kurt furiously. When they’d gotten married, Dave had accepted the role of best man. He’d stood there by the altar with the brightest and emptiest smile, then hid in the bathroom choking on his tears for most of the reception. When they’d adopted Toronto, he had been there to greet the tiny toddler with gifts and so much love, and he’d been there to babysit nearly every night that he didn’t have class. When Blaine cheated and the only option was divorce, David had been there to hold Kurt while he cried, and to gently explain to Toronto that both her daddies still loved her. He had been beside Kurt through every step of his life. Not with expectations, not with any hopes. Just because he loved Kurt, and love wasn’t about having. It was about loving. No matter what.

“Karofsky!” A voice dragged him out of his thoughts, and he looked up as a man poked his upper body into the tent. He hurled something at David, smirking. “Another love letter from your boyfriend!”

Dave scowled as he caught the envelope, mostly to hide his blush. “Told you guys, Kurt is just a friend.” He kicked a little sand at the man playfully. “Fuck off already.”

The minute he disappeared, Dave was already tearing into the letter. The first few times Kurt had written to him, he had sat with it awhile first. He had dragged his fingers across the paper, adoring the places Kurt must’ve touched, marveling at the neat, slanted handwriting. But these days, it was Kurt’s words that he needed. They were the balm for his wounds, the cure for all his ills.

His eyes drank in every word. 

Toronto had gotten into trouble at school - punched some little homophobe apparently. David snickered softly at that. The girl had always been a bit of a spitfire. David’s dad was doing well, no new hospital visits since the last scare. He was still doing weekly dinners with Burt and Carole, and Kurt lamented at how hard it was to get both their fathers to eat heart-healthy choices.

David was grinning absently as he read. It was the same news he always got, mostly, but it warmed him.

At that point in the letter… something had changed. The writing was suddenly messy, but still certainly Kurt’s. As if he’d written it out in a rush of emotion before he could talk himself out of it.

_ David? I miss you. God, I miss you so much. I know it’s normal to miss your friends, but this feeling isn’t what I expected. The absence of you aches. I know you’re doing important work, and I’m so proud of you. I can’t be selfish here. But I want to be, so badly. I can’t shake this feeling like being apart from you is just wrong. I need you. I need to talk to you. I need to have you in my arms. I know how foolish this is, and I know how unfair it is to stick this in a letter. But I’m scared Dave, and I don’t know how else to do this. I love you. And I want you to come home to me. _

The letter ended there, abruptly, without a sign off. David stared at it for a long time, struggling to process the words.

He and Kurt were used to saying I love you to one another. It was nothing new. But this time, the words held another meaning, and he knew it. He could feel it in his core. He had lived years now not even considering the possibility that Kurt could ever feel for David what David felt for him. But then, there it was. In black and white, scribbled onto decorative paper with little flowers in the corners.

Kurt loved him.


End file.
